The Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers Meeting is scheduled to take place in Goa on May 4-5, and External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar arrived in Goa on Wednesday to oversee the preparations.
During the day, EAM Jaishankar is expected to have several bilateral meetings with his SCO counterparts, including the SCO Secretary General and the foreign ministers of Russia, China, and Uzbekistan. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to arrive at Goa Airport on the morning of May 4 and is expected to have bilateral meetings with other SCO member countries, including India.
The meeting is significant in light of the rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine, following an apparent assassination attempt on Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Russia has blamed on Ukrainians.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is also scheduled to arrive in Goa for the SCO meeting on May 4. The Goa has been decorated with Goan-style decorations to welcome the SCO member countries and delegates.
India took over the rotating presidency of the SCO at the Samarkand SCO Summit in 2022, and this year it is hosting several important SCO meetings, including the Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Goa.
China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang will also attend the meeting, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that Qin Gang will exchange views with other SCO member states’ foreign ministers on various topics, including the international and regional situation and SCO cooperation in various fields, among others, to prepare for this year’s SCO summit.
